For a steady weight loss: carbs or no carbs?

Sabine_Stroehm

I went extreme and cut carbs (except for green veg) and it caused me to binge. Were as previously I ate wholegrains & fruit and was fine.

I am a big fan of "slow carb". Whole grains, lots of vegetables. And some fruit.

cmweber1966

limit carbs I think. Its works for me. Your body needs some to produce energy.

suziecue66

The brain can run perfectly well on ketones.

Hooray for kidney failure.

yeh, all these low carbers running around with kidney failure!!

Pebble321

For me... carbs are no problem. If I eat a balance of healthy food (including 45-50% carbs) and stick to my net calorie goal, losing weight just happens. It seems that there are some people who react better to a lower amount of carbs in their diet, but for most people, low carb isn't necesary. If you LIKE that way of eating - go for it, but if its hard work, then you would be much better to work out a healthy sustainable pattern of eating that works for you, that way you will be able to lose weight and keep it off.

We've done low-fat to death, now it's low-carb - I'm waiting for the day that low-protein becomes the new strategy!

kenny_johnson

Calories in... Calories out. That's my philosophy.

chevy88grl

I've done both and I've learned that carbs don't bother me at all. My body actually likes carbs (I'm probably the only person who gained weight while on a low carb diet!).

chris1816

The brain can run perfectly well on ketones.

Hooray for kidney failure.

yeh, all these low carbers running around with kidney failure!!

There is a difference between low carb and ketosis.

Big, chemical difference.

Low carb can cover a broad range of diet. 200g carb a day? 100g? 50g?

Ketosis specifically is minimal to no carb, high fat, and high protein, to induce a very specific chemical state in the body originally devised to treat epilepsy.

But please, do continue, Herr Doktor.

mzhokie

I try not to do the white carbs.... white flour, white sugar, white potatoes, etc.

I do eat carbs found in things like veggies, fruit, yogurt etc. I do high fiber whole grain carbs about one meal a day. I try not to over indulge and I make sure there is lean protein with it.

chevy88grl

The brain can run perfectly well on ketones.

Hooray for kidney failure.

There is zero scientific evidence that high protein diets damage kidneys.

As for the OP. It's 100% personal preference. If you like carbs, eat carbs. If you don't like them, don't eat them.

Carbs are linked to serotonin, cutting them back can have negative effects on mood. There's also research that indicates that cutting carbs can negatively impact lean mass retention. On the other side, people with insulin resistance issues do better on lower carb.

It's a personal choice, some people handle it well, some people don't. Me personally, I don't handle low carb well.

Hm. From my own personal experience (along with others in my family), high protein DOES affect my kidneys. When I get over 120g or so I start having terrible kidney pain. Went to the doctor and was told to keep my protein levels down. When I keep it closer to 110g or so, I feel fine but hitting 120 or more grams and the pain comes back. We have a family history of kidney stones and my doctor wants me to stick with lower protein to try and avoid getting the stones. So, while you say there isn't any scientific evidence that high protein affects your kidneys, my doctor and I both agree that too much protein is too hard on my kidneys -- that's enough evidence for me.

jenniejengin

subscribed

chris1816

The brain can run perfectly well on ketones.

Hooray for kidney failure.

yeh, all these low carbers running around with kidney failure!!

There is a difference between low carb and ketosis.

Big, chemical difference.

Low carb can cover a broad range of diet. 200g carb a day? 100g? 50g?

Ketosis specifically is minimal to no carb, high fat, and high protein, to induce a very specific chemical state in the body originally devised to treat epilepsy.

But please, do continue, Herr Doktor.

ketosis is about 100g or under

Yes but also requires a specific macro nutrient intake across the board.

If you eat moderate fats, high protein (lets say 150g), and 100g carbs, your body will not enter "kidney-stone-o-rama"... -I mean ketosis.

SelenityJ

For me counting the calories wasn't helping at all! I would work hard at it and count everything and have the defecit and still feel hungry and gained weight!

Then a good friend, Emma, introduced me to the Harcombe diet. I eat as much as I want but I watch how I'm eating and I'm finally steadily loosing weight.

It's a balance. I eat usually one carb meal a day and then eat two fatty meals. I'm not mixing my fat and carb meals together and I've come to love lowfat/nonfat yogurt and appreciate the natural sweetness it has specially paired with adding fruits. Such as blueberries, strawberries, and pineapples (real fruit fresh not the canned processed extra sugary ones)

I'm not hungry and I'm eating healthy and a bit healthier in my opinion now that i've separated my carb meals from my fat meals. A carb/fat meal i've let go of.. Pizza... I used to love making home made pizza. But it's not gone forever. It is possible to have it every so often once I hit phase 3. Same with avocado which because of the way it's classified and how one pairs it tends to make it both a fat and a carb.

Phase 1 is the kick start and detox.

Phase 2 you separate the meals and it's flexible while still allowing those like me that love meal planning to plan. And you start to appreciate some of the more natural sweetness... plus you can have herbal teas, decaf teas, and decaf coffees. Plus it offers alternative solutions for those that want to be vegans/vegetarians/meat eaters.

Phase 3 is the maintain phase. Foods you weren't allowed to eat like pizza and avocado are now okay to treat yourself with.

It's more than a diet but a lifestyle change. I've met friends that have a high success rate with it and not only that but they keep it off. Atkins I've seen my family do it and as soon as they go off of it they gain back all of the weight they've lost. Not only that but this lifestyle change also addresses medical concerns such as food intolerances (not allergies) that cause people to gain weight and Phase 1 is that kickstart that combats it and gets you ready for phase 2.

You can get the main book and the receipe companion book off of amazon and I have to say I'm loving both of it.

My family and I also eat gluten free as a support for one of my family members as the gluten free diet has shown us it helps tremendously with his medical condition... that and it's easier to prepare meals for my family with one basic outline. With how this diet is set up, I can make components for the south beach diet, the atkins diet, and the Harcombe diet with one meal and everyone's diet is followed simply as long as they don't mix the sides that they can't have with it.

Unlike most McDonald foods, I'm loving it.

chris1816

Being a nursing student, I'm learning a lot about carbohydrates and protein break downs in the body.
Without carbs, you will be angry and tired! Your body needs carbs to survive, especially protein so you dont lose muscle. Carbs make you feel good, give you some percentage of energy and is vital for breakdowns in your body. Your body will hold onto every shred of food and water it gets just to keep going if you dont get a certain amount of carbs...

You are mixing together several different things here. Not everyone gets irritable and fatigued on a ketogenic diet, and protein and carb intake are vastly different topics with vastly different pros and cons. Generally speaking, when you shed carbs you LOSE water retention, but I absolutely agree that high protein is highly valuable for muscle retention (or synthesis, depending on what you are doing).

If you are operating on a constant caloric deficit, you can get away with a VERY low carb diet. Fat is a far more satisfying (in terms of satiety) macronutrient, and will not turn into bodyfat deposits IF you are correct in counting your calorie totals and are truly at a deficit.

You didn't add that protein can act as carbs in the body. So as someone said, carbs aren't really needed.

Bro science....bro science everywhere!


So to get that anabolic process going, carbs are integral in supporting the fueling of muscles and helping them remain anabolic. Carbs also create a special hormonal environment that plays a critical role in growth--they initiate the release of insulin, which increases protein uptake by muscles. Insulin also helps muscles take in testosterone, the body's primary muscle-building hormone. Now, can fat be synthesized to help with this process in the absence of readily available carbs, but it is not the same thing.

Now if your goal is to retain lean mass in an IDEAL fashion, then yes, you do not want to cut carbs from your daily intake; just focus on your total caloric intake.

If you don't give two f*cks, by all means, eat tuna, bacon and broccoli all day.

Enjoy your farts.

onedayillbeamilf

The brain can run perfectly well on ketones.

Hooray for kidney failure.

There is zero scientific evidence that high protein diets damage kidneys.

As for the OP. It's 100% personal preference. If you like carbs, eat carbs. If you don't like them, don't eat them.

Carbs are linked to serotonin, cutting them back can have negative effects on mood. There's also research that indicates that cutting carbs can negatively impact lean mass retention. On the other side, people with insulin resistance issues do better on lower carb.

It's a personal choice, some people handle it well, some people don't. Me personally, I don't handle low carb well.

I read this, think about high carb low fat diets, they have been linked to suicide and depression. This is why once again some degree of balance is important.

I agree with this. My depression is way worse when my carb intake is too high. But when I try to truly low carb it, I'm lethargic. Balance is the key.

flapperchic

I once read an article, shortly after I went through my gall bladder odyssey [three months of pain and eating no animal fats until they realized: "HEY! The problem IS your gall bladder, let's take it out!"] that said people are either fat intolerant or carb intolerant, which can affect one's ability to lose weight. The article included a basic yes/no "test" that resulted in, "if you had more yesses in column "A", then you're...this"

Turns out I was the only one of my friends to be fat intolerant. But this did make sense, and my doctor has agreed, since all I could eat when I was going through the odyssey were carbs: breads, dry pastas, rice, pretzels, bagels, vegetables and fruits galore, etc and I dropped 30 pounds.

It all just depends on your body.

Brandicaloriecountess

I eat carbs

tigersword

The brain can run perfectly well on ketones.

Hooray for kidney failure.

There is zero scientific evidence that high protein diets damage kidneys.

As for the OP. It's 100% personal preference. If you like carbs, eat carbs. If you don't like them, don't eat them.

Carbs are linked to serotonin, cutting them back can have negative effects on mood. There's also research that indicates that cutting carbs can negatively impact lean mass retention. On the other side, people with insulin resistance issues do better on lower carb.

It's a personal choice, some people handle it well, some people don't. Me personally, I don't handle low carb well.

I read this, think about high carb low fat diets, they have been linked to suicide and depression. This is why once again some degree of balance is important.

You're backwards, my friend. It's actually low carb, high fat diets that are linked with depression, not high carb diets. Serotonin (the happy hormone) is linked with carb intake. Reducing carb intake reduces serotonin levels. Reduced serotonin levels leads to depression. Does that affect everyone who low carbs? No, but it does affect many.

tigersword

Being a nursing student, I'm learning a lot about carbohydrates and protein break downs in the body.
Without carbs, you will be angry and tired! Your body needs carbs to survive, especially protein so you dont lose muscle. Carbs make you feel good, give you some percentage of energy and is vital for breakdowns in your body. Your body will hold onto every shred of food and water it gets just to keep going if you dont get a certain amount of carbs...

You are mixing together several different things here. Not everyone gets irritable and fatigued on a ketogenic diet, and protein and carb intake are vastly different topics with vastly different pros and cons. Generally speaking, when you shed carbs you LOSE water retention, but I absolutely agree that high protein is highly valuable for muscle retention (or synthesis, depending on what you are doing).

If you are operating on a constant caloric deficit, you can get away with a VERY low carb diet. Fat is a far more satisfying (in terms of satiety) macronutrient, and will not turn into bodyfat deposits IF you are correct in counting your calorie totals and are truly at a deficit.

You didn't add that protein can act as carbs in the body. So as someone said, carbs aren't really needed.

Bro science....bro science everywhere!


So to get that anabolic process going, carbs are integral in supporting the fueling of muscles and helping them remain anabolic. Carbs also create a special hormonal environment that plays a critical role in growth--they initiate the release of insulin, which increases protein uptake by muscles. Insulin also helps muscles take in testosterone, the body's primary muscle-building hormone. Now, can fat be synthesized to help with this process in the absence of readily available carbs, but it is not the same thing.

Now if your goal is to retain lean mass in an IDEAL fashion, then yes, you do not want to cut carbs from your daily intake; just focus on your total caloric intake.

If you don't give two f*cks, by all means, eat tuna, bacon and broccoli all day.

Enjoy your farts.

It's not bro science, it's called glucoegenic amino acids. As i mentioned part of protein converts to glucose, protein does increase insulin.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/578951-ketogenic-diets-not-good-for-muscle-building
Protein can be converted into glucose for purposes of energy, but protein does not have any effect on any of the other hormones and processes that carbohydrates are involved in. You do know that glucose isn't the ONLY carbohydrate, don't you?

boggsmeister

It doesn't matter. Just hit your calories, eat at least somewhat healthy, and do something that you can do for the rest of your life. Don't play games, work the MFP program and you will lose weight. Most people who play games just throw themselves off track and drop out.

toque88

Gotta have carbs, so I can work out. Protien so I feel full longer. Works for me.

jenn_may

carbs are not the enemy. the source of those carbs are.

carbs are in candy bars = eat too many= bad

carbs are in fruit = good

look at the source, use common sense, carbs are not bad

YES!

It seems to me anything that isn't part of a permanent lifestyle change is slightly pointless. It'd be a pretty crappy life not to have carbs.

YES YES YES!

chrisdavey

keto 4 life yo!

UpdatedMike

Being a nursing student, I'm learning a lot about carbohydrates and protein break downs in the body.
Without carbs, you will be angry and tired! Your body needs carbs to survive, especially protein so you dont lose muscle. Carbs make you feel good, give you some percentage of energy and is vital for breakdowns in your body. Your body will hold onto every shred of food and water it gets just to keep going if you dont get a certain amount of carbs...

Dont abandon carbs.. I have been on around 180 - 220 macros of carbs a day which is enough for me. So far in a month I have lost 6.5kg (14 pounds). It all depends what carbs you're eating (white rice vs brown rice) etc and your body weight and height.

Sorry but your really don't know what you are talking about. The two essential macros that you must get from diet are fats and proteins. The brain can run perfectly well on ketones.
Saying that, I would still rather get my carbs via diet.

I'm curious to hear what you have to say about the belief of some that the body physiologically doesn't need carbs....Google and read it....I'm curious to hear what you think....

suziecue66

The brain can run perfectly well on ketones.

Hooray for kidney failure.

yeh, all these low carbers running around with kidney failure!!

There is a difference between low carb and ketosis.

Big, chemical difference.

Low carb can cover a broad range of diet. 200g carb a day? 100g? 50g?

Ketosis specifically is minimal to no carb, high fat, and high protein, to induce a very specific chemical state in the body originally devised to treat epilepsy.

But please, do continue, Herr Doktor.

Low carb in my books is up to about 150g. I know what ketosis is.

whitelilly1

Bump

Mellie13

Mostly because of food allergies I don't really eat any complex carbs. I primarily eat meat, fruit & veggies but I'm not perfect for sure!